"... After Sara stopped crying like a baby, I quickly told her a believable lie to tell the authorities while I made sure to pick up any evidence that could potentially lead back to us. I returned home, and you know the rest, Mom and Dad." Said Pharaoh as he finished recounting the events while Sara wished to punch him for calling her a baby, though she was observant enough to read the room.
To be honest, after telling them everything, I was a little nervous, more so about Dad's reaction than Mom's; I didn't think she'd be too mad at me for killing someone, especially since they knew of my powers, though of course, she would be far from happy. Who I was more concerned about was Dad; despite his large and intimidating appearance to your average dude, he was like a teddy bear, and similar to Superman's father, he would go out of his way to help people. That was actually how I ended up knowing Gwen, but I'll save that story for a different time.
"So you killed someone, Tut? Not just one person but three people. You killed three people." Said Hana softly while looking at Tut, a complicated look in her eyes as she gazed at her son.
"Sara, you knew about this the entire time?" Added Hana as she shifted his gaze to Sara, who looked away awkwardly while nodding her head.
"I-I don't know how to feel about this. The thought of you killing someone, Tut, believe it or not, has appeared in my mind before. This world is dangerous, and as you continued to grow older, I had this gut feeling you'd one day be forced to kill someone; I just never thought it would be when you were 11, when you were just a mere child." Remarked Hana with a complicated expression as she looked at Pharaoh before embracing him in a hug, trying to sort out the emotions swirling in her heart.
"It's not like I wished to kill them, Mom; I-I just wanted to go inside and take a quick peek to make sure it wasn't Sara, and on the off chance it was her, I intended to be in and out without anyone ever seeing me. And well, you know how that ended up working out." Replied Tut quietly as he reciprocated Hana's hug, though while doing so, he looked at James and hoped to read his through his facial expression, to no avail.
Seeing Dad just silently stare into space with the same expressionless face worried me, and it seemed Mom could also sense my nervousness as she gestured to him.
"Dear, are you going to say something or not?" Asked Hana with furrowed brows as he looked at James, who finally reacted by shifting his eye to Tut within her arms.
"Yes, I've got a lot of things I want to say; I, myself, am against killing, and I think no matter how dark someone's heart may be, they will always have a flicker of light within them, as that's what makes a human a human. However, before anything, I want to ask you, Pharaoh, why did you enter the house?" Stated James solemnly with a frown as he stared at Pharaoh with a worried look.
I was slightly confused by Dad's question; I mean, I had practically just explained why I went into the house, but I didn't bother to question it and just answered. I may have super intelligence, but that doesn't mean I have wisdom; wisdom and intelligence are slightly different; one comes with studying, while the other comes with years of experience. Even with my past life, which I hardly remember, I was still younger than Dad, who was in his mid-forties; hell, I'm confident I was younger than Mom, and she was in her early thirties.
"I went into the house to save Sara in case she had been kidnapped." Replied Pharaoh confidently with a nod, though it seemed James didn't like the answer.
"I understand that, Tut. You wanted to ensure Sara wasn't in any danger; I've raised you well if that's your first instinct, to worry about your family and friends. However, why did YOU go in? You could've very well called the authorities and had them deal with it; that way, Sara would've been saved, while you wouldn't have needed to expose your abilities." Said James seriously as he squinted his eyes, eying Tut, who in turn just frowned.
"I could've done that, but what if by uselessly waiting around for the police to show up, they were doing bad things to Sara? It would be different if I didn't have these powers, but since I do have them, I'm not just going to stand around and wait for someone to save my friend when I'm more than capable of saving her myself." Stated Pharaoh with a frown as he looked at James before glancing at Sara, who was awkwardly sitting down on the bed, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
"I see, and I'm proud that you think that way, Tut. But tell me, when you killed those men, did you feel anything: disgust, hatred, self-loath, relief, happiness, joy, excitement?" Asked James; this time, it was Hana who frowned at his question, though she continued to watch the interaction between father and son silently.
"Well, I mean, I felt slight resistance against the trigger when I pulled. Does that count as something?" Said Tut, only for him to hide his awkwardness with a cough when he saw James' unamused expression.
"No, Dad, I didn't feel any of those; it was more along the lines of disappointment that I was forced to kill them. I know they weren't exactly the best or the worst people in the world, but I would've preferred to at least give them a second chance." Added Tut with a slight shake of his head while sighing to himself, his words causing James' glare to soften slightly, though only for a few seconds.
"If that's the case, do you feel any regret or guilt for killing them without giving them the proper chance to reform themselves?" Asked James as he leaned forward and intently eyed Tut, observing every change in his facial expression while he answered his question.
"No, I didn't want to kill them, but I don't feel guilty for doing so. If I had let them leave, they would've been arrested by the cops and spilled everything about me, and it wouldn't have been long before we had some secret agents or whatever knocking on the door. Letting them live would've put you, Mom, Sara, and possibly everyone else I care for in danger; besides, from the looks of things, those drug dealers weren't just your average people. They had enough firepower to destroy a squadron of cops, not to mention, apparently, their van was bulletproof; if I had to guess, they were part of a much larger underground organization, and I'm sure such an organization wouldn't take kindly to some kid messing with their business." Declared Tut, his words causing Hana and Sara to smile slightly while James nodded before their eyes widened.
"Eh, I-I never thought about that; t-they really could've been affiliated with some massive drug operation." Muttered Sara nervously while slightly sweating, causing her to look out the window warily, though as it was night, her vision was greatly hampered.
"Yeah, now that you mention Tut, this really could've been bad. At Lexcorp, I've heard rumors that Wilson Fisk, CEO of Fisk Towers, has connections to some underground criminal organization." Remarked Hana with an ugly expression as she turned around and glanced out the same window as Sara.
"Haa, besides the neighbors, there is no one around us, Mom and Sara; if there were anyone suspicious, I would've heard them talking about kidnapping or killing us the moment they entered the suburbs." Said Pharaoh with a shake of his head while glancing at Sara, accidentally seeing right through her clothes with his X-ray vision.
'Haa, great, I don't think saying it was on accident will slide in court.' Thought Pharaoh with an ugly expression as he instantly looked away while covering his eyes, though thanks to his powerful mind, the image of what he just saw would occasionally surface.
As much as I was tempted to turn myself in for what just happened, I heard Dad clear his throat while standing up and approaching me, causing me to look up at him, making sure not to accidentally see through his clothes; not like it actually matters, I've seen both Mom and Dad naked before, I've bathed with them when I was young after all.
"Well, it looks like you're not turning into some crazy lunatic after getting a taste of killing someone; that's what I was most worried about." Said James with a slight smile as he reached down and patted Tut's shoulder, causing him to tilt his head in confusion.
"Lunatic? Why would you think I'm suddenly a lunatic? Besides, if I was one, I think it would've started to show in the past year." Remarked Tut, his words causing James to slightly chuckle before shaking his head and sighing.
"Lots of people, when they get into a position of power, they start to lose themselves when they realize how much power they have at their fingertips. I've seen it happen before; I was worried that the same thing could still happen to you even with my guidance. After all, everyone has darkness within their hearts; it's just up to them whether they'll let it corrupt them." Stated James with a frown, shaking his head while sighing as he remembered his past.
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Yo, I've got nothing to say today, so I don't know; good job! Happy birthday to someone; it's got to be one of y'all birthdays